US yacht fined $19000 by Australia....Pirates or Curious?...'the Mast has gone!"... why I HATE silicone sealant.. and more...

When you venture across the sea in a sailing boat, you just can't take Home with you. Sailors round the world find this out every day, sometimes with very negative results. In this week's issue alone, we cover the stories of three sailing boats that ran into trouble because of differing cultures, differing security issues and different laws.

Over in India some German sailors have ended up paying a hefty fine, when the fisherman they impulsively shot and injured, thinking he was a pirate, took them to court. In Mexico a solo sailor from San Francisco has lost his life mysteriously in what seems to have been an opportunistic robbery when his electrics failed; and in Australia a couple on a US yacht have had to pay A$19,000 because they didn't advise Australian Customs 96 hours in advance that they were arriving.

Do YOU have a fixed vang on your on your boom? This week Ian Broad of Hoods Sails tells why you should. Then there's that wooden boat plan man Michael Storer telling you why you should never never use silicone sealant on a boat.

If a sailor has nightmares, they'd be about the mast breaking, the boat sinking, or having to be rescued in a wild sea – read Purple X's story, no nightmare but the real thing in the South China Sea.

In Green news, over in Maui they're starting to make power from wave action, and two stories about threat to the world's coral: the growing threat of starfish, and surprisingly, maybe your sunscreen!

Those are just some of the stories in this week's issue, so read on, enjoy, and

Sail Safe!

By Nancy Knudsen, Cruising Editor

Arriving US Yachties Fined $19,000 by Australians By Thornton Reese, About.com Sailing, An Australian court has upheld the conviction and large fine levied against a yachtsman who was convicted by a customs magistrate of failing to announce the intended arrival of his vessel and crew into Australia. The magistrate assessed a fine of $4,000 and $15,000 in court costs. The yachtsman appealed the lower court's conviction, but last week a District Court dismissed the appeal and upheld th... [more]

Were they Pirates? Or Were they Curious? By Nancy Knudsen, The hysteria attached to the idea of Pirates, the reality of the existence of pirates in certain areas of the world, and those who make their living out ot selling books about 'Piracy' can make long range cruising sailors extremely jumpy, and, if they have weapons on board, prone to use them too quickly. Following is the story of a 'pirate' encounter off the western coast of India, near Cochin... [more]

Slip, Slap - but no Slop? By Michalle Kovacevic, Cosmos/Sail-World Cruising, Slip on a shirt, slap on a hat, but DON'T slop on the suncream? Sailors, like all those who spend time in the open air, have long been advised to pack sunscreen as part of the war against skin cancer. New research now suggests that minute quantities of sunscreen may be harming corals in the water below you.... [more]

You can do it! Sail Holiday on a 72ft Steel Yacht By Sail-World Cruising, YOU CAN DO IT! - in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, across the Atlantic or Round Britain. This is the ultimate in 'Activity Sailing Holidays' - on round-world ocean-going yachts - and is being offered for the first time this year with the launch of a 4-yacht Challenger Fleet by Tall Ships Adventures.... [more]

Death of Sailor off Mexico a Mystery By Tyche Hendricks, SFGate/Sail-World Cruising, One of the issues of sailing is your comparative isolation if you need help. There may be no neighbouring boats in an anchorage, marine safety authorities, if there are any, are not as fast as police would be on land. At sea, it would be worse, of course, but most attacks happen in anchorages, not at sea. The mysterious death of a San Francisco sailor off the coast of Mexico may never be solved.... [more]

'The Mast Has Gone!'- Story from South China Sea By Victor Mallett, Ft.com, It was the moment every sailor dreads. Paul Bayfield, an experienced crew member aboard Purple X, a 49ft Oyster yacht on passage from the Philippines to Hong Kong, had just settled into his berth after a spell on watch when there was a horrible noise above followed by a sharp change in the boat's motion... [more]

Nine Reasons to have a Fixed Boom Vang By Ian Broad/Sail-World, Ian Broad is well known to many Australian sailors as the principal of Hood sails. His knowledge and expertise in the area of sail making and sailing techniques with those sails is recognised as first class. Here he tells the story that inspired him to create the nine reasons why YOU should install a solid boom vang on your sailing boat... [more]

Reading more about Sailing Online? By Nancy Knudsen, If you find you are getting more and more information about sailing online, you are a leader in a world-wide trend. As more and more consumers – including sailors – opt to get their news and entertainment online, Forrester, leading analyst and research company forecasts that it's only the beginning! Here are exerpts from some of their latest analytical reports:... [more]

Why I HATE Silicon Sealant By Michael Storer, Many of the yukkiest, most pointless, timewasting activities in boat building and repair are all down to the misuse of silicon sealants. Generally if there is a leak some handyman type will try and fix it with this awful stuff. It is absolutely fine in bathrooms and houses but it just does not belong on boats. Why?... [more]

Maui to use Wave Power By Pacific Business News (Honolulu), An Australian technology company, Oceanlinx Ltd, plans to build a system off the northeast coast of Maui that will use energy generated by ocean waves to create electricity.... [more]

Marinas, Marinas and More Marinas By Sail-World Cruising, Evidence of the growing popularity of sailing or boating in general – or is it rising affluence? - is the number of new marinas popping up in likely, and the most unlikely places in the world. Just last month, the word was out about the growth of new marinas in countries from China to Australia, from South Korea to Malta.... [more]

Starfish Strike at Coral Kingdom By ARC Centre fpr Excellence, Outbreaks of the notorious crown of thorns starfish now threaten the “coral triangle” – the richest center of coral reef biodiversity on Earth. The Coral Triangle is considered the genetic fountainhead for many corals found on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo and other reefs in the region.... [more]

Register now Marina Hurricane Prep Symposium By BoatUS.com, Last chance to register for the 2008 Marina Hurricane Preparation Symposium March 4 and 5, Orlando, FL, This symposium should be high on the agenda for all Marina owners, Boat, Yacht club and Harbor managers, to learn how to manage huricane survival.... [more]

A parking problem looming—on India's seafront By Anik Basu, Livemint New Delhi, Rising sales of luxury boats could spell big business across India. In yet another sign of the rich getting richer, an increasing number of people are buying pleasure boats, and according to a yachting association official, have spent Rs400 crore (US$100 million) since Mumbai hosted India's first international boat exhibition last year... [more]

'A bloody great place to go sailing.'- Wolverines By Tracey Johnstone, Australia's Magnetic Island Race Week, which includes divisions for cruising sailing boats, is coming! ...and the Wolverines - those pseudo bad boys of country rock - are coming and they plan to turn on one hell of a party! Wolverines' leader John Clinton and his team aboard Holy Cow! are travelling north to Magnetic Island for a brilliant week of sailing and fun... [more]

Japanese Whaler Chaser Pitstops Melbourne By Sail-World Cruising, There's no body of people more interested in the issue of migrating whales than cruising sailors. Sea Shepherd's Steve Irwin fresh from conflict with Japanese whalers in the Antarctic, is returning to Melbourne tomorrow (February 2), and at time of writing, was still being 'tailed' by the Japanese ship the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 68. It's anyone's guess how close to Melbourne she will come.... [more]

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